


Finding Warmth

by fannishbutterfly



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Cheese, Cuddling & Snuggling, Multi, Sickfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 19:37:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5797213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fannishbutterfly/pseuds/fannishbutterfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a rough battle, Poe returns to the Resistance base weary and sore and...something more</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> After I saw the movie, Poe climbed into my head and then released this bunny (I'd hesitate to call it a plot bunny because it's pretty much plotless fluff) on my tender ankles. It wouldn't stop drawing blood until I wrote it, so here's the result.
> 
> This is the first time I've finished a fic in years, and my first time posting outside of prompt communities on LJ and DW or closed mailing lists/forums. Constructive criticism is always welcome (I'll never improve if people don't tell me what I can do to improve, right?). And if you catch a spelling or grammar mistake, or determine that I've given Finn a third hand somewhere, please feel free to point it out.

 

 

The best thing Poe could say about the landing was that he'd survived it. Which was more than could be said about entirely too many members of his squadron. Their intel had been faulty, they'd been badly outnumbered, and although they'd taken out the command center of the First Order in this sector, he couldn't help but think that it had been at much too high a cost.

He climbed from the smoking wreckage of his fighter, BB-8 wobbling up next to him as he tried to keep from collapsing. Neither of them had come through the fight unscathed, but at least they were whole.

The droid warbled at him in concern.

“I'll be fine, buddy. Sometimes even the best pilot in the Resistance has an off day.” His voice seemed tired, especially compared with his usual optimism. He tapped BB-8 lightly on the head and nodded back towards the base. “C’mon. Let's report back in, then we can see if I can get some of those dents out of you tonight.”

As they started towards the compound, the droid cooed in a combination of sympathy and encouragement.

With such heavy losses, the debriefing took much longer than Poe had expected, and it was full dark by the time he was allowed to escape. It grew harder with each step, but he kept his cheerful facade up as best he could until he reached the privacy of his quarters. As soon as the door closed behind him, he sagged against it, heaving a sigh absolutely saturated with weariness.  It was too early for his roommates to be back yet, and he was grateful for the silence. He closed his eyes and rubbed at his face with his palms, then let his hands fall to his side as he just breathed, trying to find the energy to do more.

A series of beeps woke him from the doze he'd been falling into, and he peered down at his droid. “Sorry, buddy, but I think repairs are going to have to wait until tomorrow. I try to repair something right now, I'm likely to break it even-” He cut himself off with a yawn. “Even worse.”

The droid bumped his leg lightly, admonishing him to take himself to bed, and he straightened up with a wince.  He didn't think the landing had been **that** rough, but he was starting to ache in his back and limbs, adding to the dull pounding in his head that the debriefing had brought on.  "Alright, I'm going," he said to BB-8, who apparently had decided that it was going to nudge him until he actually did so.

Splashing some water on his face in the fresher roused him enough to realize how desperately in need of a shower he was; the stink of dried sweat that always permeated his clothing after a simple patrol was bad enough, but the combination of that and the scent of burning electronics and fuel that now infused his uniform was not one he'd want to contaminate the bed with. He stripped down as fast as he could manage, leaving the clothes in a pile in the corner that he knew Finn would tell him off for but not having enough energy to care, and ducked under the shower for a quick wash.

As soon as he cut the water off, exhaustion again hit him hard, and he made only a small effort to dry himself off before stumbling back to the bedroom. Leaving the warm humidity of the fresher set him to shivering and his nose to running, and he sniffed sharply to deal with the latter as he shuffled to his dresser.

He grabbed the first set of sweats out of his drawers and pulled them on over the dampness that remained on his skin, eager to be horizontal as quickly as he could manage. BB-8 was nowhere to be seen as he toppled on to the bed and was fast asleep within two breaths.

 

* * *

 

He wasn't sure what had woken him, but it was dark in the room even though he had no recollection of turning out the lights, and he was a lot warmer now.  There was a body pressed up behind him, and he was spooning someone.  Which made it a little awkward that his nose still hadn't let up and he had no way of reaching for the tissues on the bedside table, but he was still so groggy, and the warmth around him was so inviting, that he just sniffled a few times and drifted back to sleep.

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure he's alright?  He feels really warm!"

"He'll be fine, Finn.  Just let him rest."

A cool palm pressed up against his forehead, and he was surprised by how good it felt.  Without really meaning to, he pushed into the hand with a small moan.

"Poe?  You awake?"  He heard a quick, sharp slap of flesh on flesh.  "Ow!  Rey!  What was that for?!"

"I told you to let him rest!  He's obviously come down with something and he needs his sleep."

With a sniff that was far wetter than he'd been expecting, he stirred between them.  "'s alright.  I need to get up anyway."  He scrubbed at his face with his palms and started to sit up only to be stopped by a hand on each shoulder.

"And just where do you think **you're** going?" Rey demanded.

"Fresher to start, then I promised BB-8 I'd fix him up after yesterday, and-"

"Okay," Finn interjected. "Just stop right there, Poe.  The fresher's okay, but then you're coming right back here and getting the rest you need."  

As Poe sat up, he thought that he hadn't seen Finn look so determined since they went after Rey on Starkiller Base.  "Seriously, I'm fine!" he protested, dismayed that his diction was already being affected by the increasing congestion in his head.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't have been snoring in my ear all night," Finn replied, completely matter-of-fact.

"I wasn't…"  He looked to each of them in turn.

Rey nodded.  "You were."

Poe's face fell.  "Oh.  Umm...sorry."

Finn laid his hand on Poe's jaw, stroking his stubbly cheek with a thumb as Rey spoke up.

"You have nothing to apologize for.  You're getting ill, and it's not something you can control.  That's why we want you to rest and get better."

"You're both incredibly sweet, but I'm honestly not feeling that bad.  I can stop by the med center and get some pills and I'll be good to go.  Really."  Poe sniffled and rubbed at his nose with the back of his wrist.  There was the faintest hint of an itch building there, and pressure behind his eyes, and a thick discomfort in his throat, but he knew that he was going to be miserable later on whether his lovers kept him in bed or not, and there were things he needed to get done.  He just hoped he could get through it all before his body crashed as badly as his X-Wing had yesterday.

It was clear from the looks on their faces that neither one really believed him.  From what Finn had told them during a brief period of lucidity when he'd been suffering through his first virus at the Resistance base, there was very little in the way of illness among the Stormtroopers.  Their environment on board the various stations was kept as sterile as possible, and they weren't allowed to remove their helmets when they were sent planetside to minimize exposure.  Their close quarters practically ensured that anything that made it on to the station would spread quickly so the fewer microbes that were allowed in, the closer to optimal levels the Stormtroopers would all function.  Because of that, he was about to argue the point, but Rey stepped in before he could.

"If you're sure.  Go use the fresher, get cleaned up, and we can go by the med center.  But if the medic says you're not fit for duty, or if you start feeling any worse, you're coming right back to bed.  Understood?"

"Absolutely."  He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek, not wanting to risk her -- either one, actually -- catching this if they hadn't already.

"Really, Rey?" he heard Finn say as he closed the refresher door, and he smiled to himself.  Or, at least, he smiled until he caught sight of himself in the mirror.  He looked...well, to put it nicely, he didn't look well at all.  He had to have been rubbing at his nose in his sleep because his nostrils were already pinker than usual.  Or maybe it was just visible because of his unusual pallor.  For all that he'd gotten plenty of sleep, there were dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes themselves were a bit more watery than usual.  He sighed at the pathetic sight he'd become, then rubbed at his face as if he could scrub away any trace of illness before taking care of his business.  

It wasn't until he was getting ready to shave his face that the tickle that he'd felt building earlier finally peaked.  He quickly stepped back from the sink and turned his face into his shoulder to contain it since his hands were full of foam, and therefore completely useless.  His eyelids fluttered shut as he inhaled slowly through his mouth, a wrinkle forming between his brows and his upper lip curling helplessly as the insistent irritation held him captive, before his upper body was thrown forward with a harsh sneeze that echoed against the hard surfaces in the room.

He let out a breathy groan, then sniffed sharply as he straightened back up.  Surprisingly, the foam hadn't been shaken from his palms by the motion, but he was now in desperate need of a tissue, so he rinsed it away to take care of his sinuses.  By the time he was able to breathe freely again, he decided he really just wasn't up for shaving today after all.  The dark stubble didn't help his appearance, but he could feel the drag of illness already and wasn't about to waste what energy he had.

Rey slipped into the fresher as he emerged, but Finn just sat on the edge of the bed, watching him extremely closely.  "You know, you don't usually stare at me like that when I'm putting clothes **on** ," he said as he pulled some clothes out of his drawers.

"You're really sure you're okay?"  

The worry in Finn's voice caused Poe to stop what he was doing and look closely at his lover.  He was fidgeting like he did when he was nervous, and that would **not** do.  He tossed his sweatshirt in the laundry but didn't bother taking the time to put his clean shirt on as he walked over to the bed.  Dropping his clothes on the mattress, he placed his hands on Finn's shoulders and knelt down at his feet, looking him straight in the eye.  "I'll be fine, buddy.  I'm not feeling great, but it's just a cold.  Nothing like what you had."

"I'll hold you to that," the former Stormtrooper responded, anxiety lessened but not gone as he was obviously thinking back on four days of fever that fluctuated between high and dangerously high in the midst of a week of being unable to keep any food down.  "And if you feel worse, you **will** let us take care of you like you took care of me, right?"

"Promise."  He rose, sniffling a bit as he did so, then leaned over and kissed Finn's forehead.

Rey chose that moment to return to the room.  "Poe, what do you think you're doing?!  Get some clothes on before you get chilled and make yourself worse!"

"Yes, sir!" He gave her a cocky half-assed salute before grabbing his shirt from the bed.

After watching Poe button his shirt, Finn stood up and grabbed his jacket.  "Uh, I've gotta go.  The General had a couple of questions for me.   I'll see you later?"

"I'll come find you, let you know what the medic says," Rey replied.

"Thanks…"  Finn looked over at Poe, fully dressed now, and noted that he had his arms folded but seemed to be curled slightly in on himself, almost as if he was cold, except that their room was comfortable to Finn and Poe usually had a higher tolerance for lower temperatures than either of his lovers.  Poe's eyes were unfocused and he was still sniffling every few breaths, and for all that he'd tried to convince Finn that he'd be fine, the former Stormtrooper still wasn't completely sold on it.  A quick glance at his hands gave him an idea.  "Here.  You look like you need this more than me today," and he draped the jacket over Poe's shoulders.

Poe started at the sudden weight across his back, then blinked as he realized what it was and gave a grateful smile to Finn.  "Thanks, buddy."

"Just feel better, okay?" Finn clapped him on his upper arm, squeezing gently.

Nodding, Poe slipped his arms into the jacket's sleeves and relaxed a bit as the leather trapped his body heat inside.

With that, Finn gave Rey a quick kiss on the temple and left the two on their own.

“So. Medics. Are you ready?”

He sniffled again, sharp and wet this time, before answering. “Guess so.”  He walked to the nightstand and grabbed a handful of tissues to stuff in his pocket, and when he turned around, Rey was placing her hand on his forehead.

Her gaze was dead serious as she looked into his eyes. “You're warmer than when you woke up. Are you sure you're okay?”

He looked away. He knew she was just trying to make sure he was telling the truth, and that she'd never poke around in his head like Kylo Ren had, but he was still trying to get over his ordeal, and it was sometimes hard for him to keep from flinching instinctively when anyone caught and held his gaze like that. He just hoped she understood.

“I'll be fine for another couple of hours. That's all I need.”

She brushed her thumb along his cheek, mirroring Finn's gesture from earlier. “Come on, then.”

In a move that was uncharacteristic for her outside of the privacy of their quarters, she took his hand and led him down the corridors.  Her hand felt good in his, warm, with calluses along her palms that spoke of hard work and melee training, and his hand tingled where she ran her thumb along his knuckles.

They continued in silence, Poe's attention being increasingly demanded by another growing itch in his sinuses.  He sniffed and wrinkled his nose, trying to shake it, but it was tenacious, and his efforts only succeeded in strengthening it.

Rey seemed unaware of his struggle until he stopped and pulled his hand free of hers.

"Is everything alright?"

He fumbled in his pocket for a tissue as he answered, his voice weak and unsteady.  "Y-yeah, just... _hahhh..._ just gotta…"  He pulled a tissue free and pressed it over his nose and mouth so that all that was visible were his fluttering eyelids and the crinkle between his dark brows.  He seemed to stop breathing for a couple of heartbeats before he doubled over with a forceful, breathy sneeze that he was certain the acoustics in the corridor carried halfway around the compound.  With a groan and a sniffle, he straightened up, turning away from Rey to clear his sinuses.

"Nnh.  Sorry about that," he murmured a bit blearily as he turned back around, shoving the used tissue into his other pocket.

"Don't apologize, idiot," Rey replied, ruffling his hair, then pulling him close in a one-armed hug.  "It's not like you can help it."

The medical droid confirmed what Poe had already figured out: he'd picked up the cold that was going around base, and it was a bad one. He’d be excused from his regular work rotation until his temperature was back to normal since even a low grade fever would affect his performance in the field, and was given some pills to make him more comfortable in the meantime.  He dry-swallowed two before they left the med center, coughing as they scraped along his increasingly scratchy throat, and tried to ignore the fact that the pressure in his head was building, his nose was getting stuffier, and he was feeling almost as tired as he had when he'd passed out the night before.

On their way out the door, something slammed into the backs of his legs, knocking him off balance.  Rey caught him before he could do more than just stumble, then turned on the intruder.

"BB-8!  What did you do that for?!"

The droid emitted a cooing noise that sounded both apologetic and concerned as it rolled back to Poe's leg, barely touching it this time.

Poe squatted next to it, resting a hand on its head.  "Shhh, it's alright.  You didn't hurt me, buddy, you just need to be more careful, okay?"

The beeps and chittering became accusatory in tone.

"Yeah, sorry."  Poe sniffled wetly, coughed, then rubbed at his nose with his wrist.  "I know I was gonna come fix you up first thing, but I had something I needed to do first.  Do you forgive me?"

Another warble and BB-8 bumped at Poe's knee.

"C'mon then," he said as he stood.  "Let's…" He sniffed again, pinching the bridge of his nose before continuing.  "Let's try to get you looking a bit closer to your usual self, yeah?"

"Just remember what you promised earlier, Poe," Rey said.  "Don't think I won't hold you to it."

He gave her a shaky approximation of his usual grin.  "I know, I know.  I won't push m- _uhh…_ "  His breath hitched and he mashed his fist to the underside of his nose until the itch backed off.  When he was certain he wasn't about to sneeze again, he gave a hard sniff and continued.  "I won't push myself."  He placed a hand on her forearm and gave it a light squeeze, then let it slide down her arm until he could entwine her fingers with his.  "As soon as I'm done with BB-8, I'll go back to our quarters."

"I'll come check on you when I can."  She tightened her hand around his, then let go and headed off towards the training salle.

As soon as she'd turned the corner, Poe scrambled for another tissue from his pocket, his face falling into a mask of helplessness.  He pressed the tissue tightly over the lower half of his face as his breath stuttered again, then he froze, waiting for the insistent itch to increase that last little bit that would trigger the means for him to rid himself of it.

He didn't have to wait long before he was wracked with another wrenching sneeze, strong enough that he staggered with the force of it, wincing as it echoed along the empty corridor.  He couldn't hold back the small moan of weariness that it drew out of him.  He leaned against the wall for support as he blew his nose, and when he'd cleared what he could from his sinuses, BB-8 was burbling at him in concern.

"I'll be fine, it's just a cold.  Let's get you fixed up so I can get back to bed, okay?"

A whistle of excitement emanated from the droid and it hurried down the hall, stopping at each intersection to make sure Poe was following him, and rolling back to hurry him along if he'd slowed too much.

When they got to the workshop, Poe immediately sat down on a bench and fumbled in his pocket for another tissue.  'This is beginning to get tiresome,' he thought as he tried to get his drippy sinuses under control, leaning over afterwards and dropping the used tissue, along with the ones he'd crammed in his pocket earlier, into the waste incinerator.  With a light cough, he picked up a screwdriver and slid off the bench to kneel in front of BB-8, murmuring, "Let's see what we've got."

Fortunately it had been mostly dents and dings and a bit of scuffed paint this time.  There were a few wires that needed replacing where the dents had disrupted the seals along the joins of its outer shell, but nothing too demanding.  And it was a good thing, too, because his head was throbbing by the time he'd screwed the last panel back in place.  He rose, and black spots danced around the edge of his vision.  'Shit,' he thought as the darkness quickly took more of his sight and the room started to spin, 'this is gonna hurt.'

"Poe!"  

Arms wrapped around his chest from behind as he felt the world tilt, and he was soon laid out on the bench with something under his knees and a cool hand stroking his forehead.  He groaned and tried to sit up, only to have a palm splay across his chest, holding him down.

"Stay down a little bit longer.  You've still got no color in your cheeks."  Finn's voice was gentle.  "You scared the shit out of me.  You know that, don't you?  You're burning up!"

"Was just about to go back to the room," Poe murmured, bracketing the thought with wet sniffles.

Finn pressed a kiss to his hairline.  He was still a bit shy when it came to showing affection in public, so Poe realized just how worried he must be.  "You should have been in bed a while ago from the looks of it."

"I just stood up too fast, that's all."

"Guess it's a good thing I came to check up on you, huh?"

Poe cracked a smile, then tried again to sit up. This time Finn let him, but forced him to take it slowly. “Yeah. You saved me again. Seems like you're making a habit of it.”

He'd been stuffed up when he was lying down, but the change in position incited a furious prickling in his sinuses and he quickly turned away from Finn, hiding his face in his elbow.

“You okay? You're not gonna be sick or pass out again or something, are you?” Finn's palm was flat across his back, ready to support him if that had been the case.

Poe shook his head slightly, unable to get any words out around his hitching breath. He stilled for a fraction of a second before he was thrown forward with a powerful sneeze that practically knocked him off the bench, scraping over his throat and triggering a fit of raspy coughing. The sudden motion had set his head to pounding again and he bit back a whimper as his breathing returned to normal.

Finn slipped his arm around Poe's shoulder. “Alright, I think it's time to get you back into bed.”

“Nnnh. Not gonna argue,” he replied, voice pinched with discomfort. He leaned over and flipped the switch to power BB-8 back up, then pushed himself to his feet.

The droid let out a series of beeps and whistles once it had finished running its internal checks, then trilled in concern when it noted Finn's presence.

“Yeah, you're as good as I can get you for now. The paint's gonna have to wait, sorry.”

It repeated the tones of worry, causing Poe to chuckle.

“I'll be fine. He’s taking care of me. Go show off your battle scars.”

The droid chittered indignantly, then rolled off, leaving Poe chuckling in its wake. Finn, on the other hand, just stared at the doorway that it had disappeared through.

“One of these days I'm going to learn to understand what it's saying,” he muttered, which just made Poe laugh harder. He rolled his eyes. “C’mon, flyboy, let's get you back to bed.”

Poe nodded and let Finn throw an arm around his shoulders.  The gesture was comforting, but if the trip back took any more out of him, or his headache got much worse, he knew he was going to be leaning on Finn more than just figuratively.

By the time they got back to their quarters, Poe felt like he was going to collapse.  Finn led him to the bed and sat him down on the edge of it but told him to stay upright and awake a little longer.  It felt like a horrible chore, but he managed the "upright" part by virtue of propping his head up on one hand as he rested that elbow on his knees.  His other arm was wrapped around his middle, trying to hold onto the warmth of Finn's body pressed up against his own.

He must have dozed off like that, because the next thing he knew, Finn was squatting in front of him, resting a hand on his exposed cheek.  "C'mon, Poe.  Can you open your eyes for me?"

"Hmmn?"  It took some serious effort for him to comply.

"That's good.  That's right.  I want to get you into some more comfortable clothes.  Think you can help me out with that?"

He sniffled absently as he tried to gather the energy it would take to move; his nose was starting to get runny again, he was going to have to deal with that while he was awake as well.  He raised his head up and let Finn push the jacket off his shoulders, but as soon as the comforting weight of the leather was away from his body, he started shivering and let out a curse in a language that, from the look on Finn's face, the former Stormtrooper had never heard before.

“We really need to get that fever down,” Finn murmured as he worked Poe's arms free of the jacket's sleeves.

The door to their quarters opened but neither of them paid it much mind since only one other person would come in without warning.

“Medical droid said-"  His words caught in his throat and he turned away to cough into a loose fist. "Said it shouldn't last long. Gave me something for it but it's not working very well.” He started working on unbuttoning his shirt but had to pause to rub at his nose, which was getting itchier with each passing second, so Finn took over.

Rey set a tray down on the work table in the corner then joined the other two. “The medical droid also said it wouldn't get very high.”

Poe shook his head and sniffed sharply. “Not its fault. I always spike a fever when I get sick. Just,” he sniffled again, “doesn't usually start this early on.”

Rey knelt at Poe's feet and started unlacing his boots.

“I'll take your word for it, but if we can't get it to come down soon, I'll be dragging that droid here if I have to.”  Finn's words were harsh, but his hands were gentle as he slipped Poe's arms out of his shirt.

Rey had gotten one boot off and Finn was reaching for the sweatshirt on the pile of clean clothes he'd brought over when Poe turned away from both of them, one hand groping blindly for the tissues on the nightstand as the other arm hovered near his face. Rey Force pushed the box closer to his hand, and after he grabbed a few out, he gave her a brief nod of thanks, then pressed the white paper to his face as a fierce sneeze erupted from his sinuses, punctuated by a wince and a couple of dry coughs.  The blows afterwards were wetter now, and he had to replenish the tissues he held before he'd managed to clear his nose.

There was a crease of pain between his brows when he emerged from the second nest of tissues with a murmured, "Sorry."

"Shh," Rey soothed him.  "I already told you to stop apologizing.  Now let's finish getting you changed so we can get you into bed where you belong, alright?"

Poe nodded and tossed the soiled tissues in the waste bin before taking the sweatshirt from Finn and pulling it down over his head as quickly as he could while Rey worked on the laces of his other boot.  By the time she'd gotten that one off, his shivers had died down a bit, but he was still shaking with chills every few breaths.

"I'll be right back," Finn said suddenly.  Without explanation, he rose and walked over to the fresher, and they could soon hear water running in the sink.

Due to exhaustion, Poe was more awkward than usual getting out of his pants and into the loose sweatpants Finn had brought for him, but by the time the other man had returned, he was sitting up in bed, Rey pulling the blankets up to his chest.

"Is that any better?" Rey asked, pressing a palm to Poe's cheek.

Poe nodded.  "Warmer, yeah."

"Let's get some food in you, okay?"  She pulled away and retrieved a bowl from the tray she'd brought in earlier.  "I didn't even think about it this morning, but when was the last time you ate?"

Finn set a bowl down on the nightstand, then climbed into bed on the other side, squeezing himself in close so Poe could lean against him instead of the cold ferrocrete wall.  Poe smiled at him, and even as shaky as the smile was from discomfort and lack of energy, Finn couldn't help but return it.

"Umm…"  Poe sounded embarrassed as he tried to answer Rey's question.  "I'm pretty sure the General made me eat something during the debrief yesterday but I don't remember what."

"That could be making your headache worse, you know."  She hooked a chair with her ankle and dragged it close to the bed, then sat down and passed him the bowl, warm against his hands but not quite steaming.  "Eat, then you need to rest."

The soup was thick and hearty, full of vegetables and shredded meat, with a hint of spice on his tongue that swelled to burn hot in his head well after he'd swallowed each bite.  The wet heat calmed his throat, and he could feel himself warming from the inside out, the shivering soothed away by the food as much as the blankets and Finn's warmth at his back.  Soon there was sweat beading on his brow and his sinuses felt as if he'd opened a floodgate.  

Rey could see him struggling -- sniffling copiously between each bite, the sniffles occasionally triggering ticklish coughs, taking smaller and smaller bites as the spiciness hampered his ability to breathe, his nose crinkling and the number of times he had to rub at it -- and exchanged the bowl for the box of tissues.  "Clear your head so you can eat properly," she murmured to him.

He swiped two tissues from the box and tried to turn away from them to blow some of the congestion out of his head, but there was really nowhere to turn to, so instead he curled up so that his face was practically at his knees.  The spice had loosened up everything, and it took several long minutes before the blows became less wet and he felt like he might be able to breathe again, at least for a time.  The last blow, however, managed to irritate the hyper-sensitized membranes in his nostrils, and he muffled a damp sneeze into the soiled paper before scrubbing at his nose and tossing it in the waste bin.

"Thanks," he mumbled, taking the bowl back from her and taking another spoonful.  It was at that point that he looked at the two of them and realized that he was the only one eating.  "Where's your lunch?"

"Don't worry about us, Poe.  Rey brought enough for all of us.  We just want to make sure you're settled first," Finn replied, brushing some of the curls, now lank with sweat, back from Poe's eyes.

He nodded and went back to ladling soup into his mouth.  Finally, the bowl was close to empty, but he didn't think he could manage any more, so he let his head loll back against Finn's shoulder, and suddenly Rey was taking the bowl away and Finn was wiping his forehead with a cool, damp cloth.  "Feels good," he murmured.

"I remember you two doing this to me.  I thought it might help."  He dragged the cloth slowly down both cheeks and the length of Poe's neck before turning it inside out and returning it to his forehead.

Poe sniffled, then cleared his throat with a light cough.  "It does, buddy.  Thank you."

Rey brought their two plates over, setting one on each nightstand, and the two switched off laving Poe's feverish skin and nibbling at their own lunches until their plates were cleared.  Poe would never completely drift off, coming blearily back to full consciousness each time they traded off, and occasionally he was jolted back awake by the need to cough or sneeze -- both urges of which were coming increasingly often -- but it was fairly clear that it wouldn't take much for him to sink that last little bit into slumber.

When Finn had finished off the last of his food, he slipped out from under the covers and took their plates back to the work table.

Rey pressed her palm to Poe's forehead and smiled.  "Your fever's come down.  How are you feeling?"

"Headache's almost gone and I'm finally warm again."  He slid over in the bed so Rey could get under the covers.  "The rest of it…"  He sniffled sharply, followed by a dry cough.  "Nnh.  I've been better.  I've been way worse though."

Finn returned and got back in on the other side of the bed, and Poe shifted so his head was resting on Finn's chest.  Rey curled up behind him, one arm slung over his waist, the other slid up underneath Finn's shoulder.

Yes, Poe thought as he drifted off, he was definitely warm now.  He couldn't remember feeling this cared for when he'd been ill since he'd enlisted, and despite the aches and general feelings of unwellness that infused his body just then, he didn't think he would trade it in for anything.

 


End file.
